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Israeli land agency told to stop presenting occupied territories as part of Israel

JfJfP welcomes ASA decisionStatement 02.11.11
JfJfP welcomes the firm response from the Advertising Authorities pointing out that ILAN was misleading the public in offering houses for sale in occupied Palestine. We hope that Israeli firms profiting from this illegal occupation will take note, and not only be more careful about their advertisements in the future, but will also recognise their responsibility to international law and completely end their investment in stolen lands.

Ad
An ad in The Jewish Chronicle for a property development, in June 2011, was headlined “Vineyard View EFRAT New Neighbourhood in Dekel UNIQUE DEVELOPMENT OF 26 NEW HOUSES”. The ad featured aerial photos of the development and bullet pointed text listed the features of the development, including “Independent Group Purchase … Israeli finance subject to status”.

Text in the bottom half of the ad, underneath the heading “Why use I.L.A.N?” stated “With our network of experienced agents across Israel, covering major locations such as Bet Shemesh / Ramat Bet Shemesh, Efrat, Hashmonaim, Herzliya, Jerusalem, Netanya, Modiin, Ra’anana, Rechovot, Tel Aviv, Yad Binyamin, Zichron Yaakov & more … We strive to adhere to the highest standards you would like to receive from an experienced real estate consultant to help you cope with the hurdles of the Israeli property market and business environment … We put you in contact with English speaking professionals, to help you make your home in Israel experience a little bit less stressful incl Mortgages, Insurance, Legal, Interior Design, Architects & a Building Surveyor … With our negotiating skills, creativity & ‘holding your hand’ we will navigate you through the process of buying in Israel. If you have a property in Israel that you would like to sell, we provide a unique blend of local, national & international marketing … Visit the I.L.A.N. stand at the Israel Property Expo on Sunday 26th June”. The ad included the logo for Israel Business Brokers (IBB).

Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied that the development in Efrat in Dekel was in Israel, whereas he understood it was a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

CAP Code (Edition 12)
1.73.13.3

Response
ILAN Real Estate (ILAN) did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.

Assessment
Upheld

The ASA was concerned by ILAN’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.

We considered that the references in the ad to ILAN’s experienced agents across Israel, the help they offered in negotiating the Israeli property market and making house buying in Israel less stressful, and the list of major locations in Israel ILAN covered, as well as to the Israel Property Expo, Israeli finance and buying a property in Israel, strongly implied that the development in Efrat in Dekel was in Israel. We noted that we had not seen evidence that that was the case, and understood that Efrat and Dekel were located in the occupied West Bank. We considered that the fact that the development in Efrat in Dekel was in the West Bank, in territory not internationally recognised as part of Israel, was likely to be highly material to consumers and that the omission of the information rendered the ad misleading.

Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told ILAN to avoid in future similar ads misleading as to the location of property developments. We asked CAP to inform its members of the problem with ILAN Real Estate.

An advertisement displaying properties for sale in illegal Israeli settlements was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), in a ruling issued today, 2 November 2011.

Campaigners have welcomed the decision by the ASA to uphold the complaint, made by Michael Shanahan against an Israel Lease Acquisitions Network (ILAN) advertisement in the Jewish Chronicle, published on 24 June 2011.

The ASA also expressed further concern that ILAN’s failed to respond to the complaint showing (according to the ASA) an ‘apparent disregard’ for the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising (the CAP code).

This is the latest in a series of complaints, upheld by the ASA, where advertisers have wrongly described occupied Palestinian territory as in Israel. One such complaint, by Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews for Justice for Palestinians, focused on an advert on London Underground which displayed a map of Israel as including the West
Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights. Transport for London removed this advert following complaints by 600 people.

The ASA said the company had breached two parts of the code, ‘unreasonable delay’ in responding, and ‘misleading advertising’.

PSC Director, Sarah Colborne, said; “Those making money from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories may choose to forget they are profiting from
stolen land, but those who care about international law will take every opportunity to remind them. We will not let them mislead the British public into believing these are legitimate sales.

“The ASA has been clear: don’t mislead the public – these settlements are built on occupied land.”

An advertisement displaying properties for sale in illegal Israeli settlements was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), in a ruling issued on 2 November 2011.

PSC welcomes the decision by the ASA to uphold the complaint, made by Michael Shanahan against an Israel Lease Acquisitions Network (ILAN) advertisement in the Jewish Chronicle, published on 24 June 2011.

The ASA also expressed further concern that ILAN’s failed to respond to the complaint showing (according to the ASA) an ‘apparent disregard’ for the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising (the CAP code). This is the latest in a series of complaints, upheld by the ASA, where advertisers have wrongly described occupied Palestinian
territory as in Israel.

One such complaint, by Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews for Justice for Palestinians, focused on an advert on London Underground which displayed a map of Israel as including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights. Transport for London removed this advert following complaints by 600 people.

The ASA said the company had breached two parts of the code, ‘unreasonable delay’ in responding, and ‘misleading advertising’.

PSC Director, Sarah Colborne, said: “Those making money from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories may choose to forget they are profiting from stolen land, but those who care about international law will take every opportunity to remind them. We will not let them mislead the British public into believing these are legitimate sales.

The ASA has been clear: don’t mislead the public – these settlements are built on occupied land.”

A representative of a Christian organisation working with refugees near Bethlehem said: “I am glad the ASA had taken this stand. The impact of these illegal settlements on the Christian community is devastating. From the Shepherds Fields now, which used to be a popular destination for pilgrims, you can see the hillsides covered in these rather ugly townhouses that are part of an illegal settlement.”

Previous ASA rulings against Israeli advertising Information from PSC
The ASA has ruled against the Israeli Government Tourist Office three times and ILAN once for using misleading information in promotions.

2008 Against IGTO in April 2008 concerning adverts placed in the Radio Times.

2009 A complaint was upheld against IGTO on 15.07.09. In that adjudication the ASA ruled that posters advertising Israel as a tourist destination had breached its Truthfulness clause by using a map that portrayed the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza and the Syrian Golan Heights as being part of Israel. In fact, those three areas were occupied by Israel in 1967. The posters, headlined ‘Experience Israel’, appeared on London Underground sites in May. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Jews for Justice for Palestinians wrote letters to the ASA and Transport for London asking for their removal. The ASA received a total of 441 complaints, which it considered in its ruling. A further 600 complaints were received by Transport for London.

2010 The ASA ruled against the IGTO in 2010 when an advert showed East Jerusalem and told the IGTO not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.

2011 Against ILAN, see above

JfJfP welcomes ASA decisionStatement 02.11.11

JfJfP welcomes the firm response from the Advertising Authorities pointing out that ILAN was misleading the public in offering houses for sale in occupied Palestine. We hope that Israeli firms profiting from this illegal occupation will take note, and not only be more careful about their advertisements in the future, but will also recognise their responsibility to international law and completely end their investment in stolen lands.

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